I've been forced to move . . . .


I am now on the NEW Blog. I was forced to move today. I just hope everything is still in its place as on the OLD blog - I worked bloody hard to learn HTML to put those buttons in place . . . .

And speaking of moving - I think I've moved the BT OUT of the little roomette next door! One of our buddies offered his basement suite to me but it's a little too small for me & I'd have to fight for street parking so I turned it down. But, I suggested he talk to Ronn who lives in what was once the master bedroom of my suite. Its a VERY large double room with fridge, kitchenette(very ette) with a full size bathroom & two large storage closets. Ideal for a guy who's not home much but horrible when you're home a lot & the kids upstairs are fighting, jumping, screaming & swearing before & after school. The new spot has a large kitchen/sitting room with two small bright bedrooms against the side of a hill but there's laminate floors, a great patio area outside thats private, two other quiet techie guys living there & it comes with heat, light, cable, internet & laundry built in. Who could ask for more!! I'll miss him but he HAS promised to look after OUR cat when I go to spinning retreats . . . .


I've finished the second pair of socks for 2007. I ended up putting grey toes on them because I ran out of yarn - I only had one ball & a bit, but it really went a looooooong way. I do love that Confetti yarn!! It has great yardage & does fluff when washed the first time. And I think they turned out pretty darned good in the end.

Presenting - socks #3 - the heel increases are already done on one sock & the other is in progress - I'll probably put solid toes on these just to tone them down a little although I have one 11 year old who thinks they're wonderful!! I thought I was buying "manly" yarn from the internet photo at Elann but they're pretty busy & bright!!! They remind me of my first Regia pair in purples & greys. I suspect they'll get a solid grey or blue toe because its impossible to match that green.


I think I'm just about ready to swatch for my Arvik sweater. If all else fails, I'll knit a plain garter sweater all in one piece from the neck down on circs although I'm still in love with the garter sweater knit in three pieces from Knitter's magazine. My second favorite from Cast On magazine is nice too but knit in Kureyon which is much heavier than my handspun but who knows, it may work up into a similar gauge. Its all up to the gauge swatch. My big basket is full of Arvik skeins & balls plus there's another couple hanging on my skein rack so I may just have enough to get started, hahahahah My Arvik is really overshadowed by that great skein of Aurelia merino in Hibiscus isn't it?? Gawd how I love that color & may have to send for another bag just so I have TWO skeins on the rack to brighten the place up . . . . Gail thinks I should knit a shrug for spring in the merino but I think its just tooooo pretty to fiddle with. Dammit.

The days just flash by . . . .


I can't believe its been almost two weeks since I wrote anything!!! Of course I finished the first pair of socks of the year fairly quickly but the BT put them on before I could get a pic!!! I'll remedy that later. Socks #2 are more than halfway done - I found a ball of blue, green & grey mottled yarn & decided to knit it up as far as it would go & then add something on for the remainder of the foot & toe. You know how much I like contrasting toes!!! And the yarn for Socks #3 is already chosen. I think #2 will go into the 'Red Cross' donation box.

I've got some ideas for some Frankensocks which also might go into the 'donation' box - hopefully, they'll be acceptable to the general public!!

I've also been knitting up some of my handspun dye experiment yarns into 8" squares. Most of the colors don't go together but I think they'd be okay if they were joined together with a black border - I'm thinking of crocheting them together into an afghan. Some of the squares are spun from Koolaid dye experiments, some are from a purple, beige & turquoise topknot I bought from Aurelia at last year's FibreFest & some are from splotch dyed yarns from my first acid dyes. So, the colors are all over the spectrum from purple to oranges to hot pinks & greens. I think they'd make a great 'granny square' type afghan as long as I use a one color border to join them. What else do you make with your "first" experiments????

More progress on the Arvik fleece - Two more fat, fluffy skeins - I've lost count of how many I actually have in the BIG basket!!! I'm beginning to think I should start knitting soon since I may even have enough yarn already spun for the basic sweater I have in mind. I found a sweater - actually a pullover but easy to make into a cardigan - that's made up of strips of knitting. The strips can be made as narrow or wide as desired. They can be knit in lace patterns, made like a sampler in squares or alternated in plain & garter if desired. The strips can be made as long or short as desired too. My kind of sweater in some ways because it can be knit in small sections - easy on the sore hands & portable!! But then, it has to be sewed together!! Sewing things together is not always my strong point!!
And, of course, I have the simple garter stitch sweater knit in three pieces that I found. Soooooo many sweaters, sooooo little time . . . . .

And Here We Go Again


The BoyToy had an appointment at the UBC Hospital at 9:00 AM yesterday. It was made by the Disability Insurance company in Ontario without consulting us or giving us time to change anything. And then it snowed. Just enough to ice up all the hills. We left Surrey at 7:06 AM knowing the route to the Alex Fraser Bridge & the EastWest Connector was a parking lot. We thought we'd sneak thru our backroads, go over the Patullo Bridge & go the old route down Marine drive. It took us an hour & a half to get TO the Bridge & another 20 minutes to get past the traffic trying to get to the Connector from New Westminster. Once we hit Marine Drive, the snow disappeared, the sun came out & we flew into the University only a half hour late. The Doctor was surprised to see us!!! I got the heel increases done on one sock while I waited in the $3.00 an hour parking spot! Eventually we got home. I took two aspirins & went to bed for a nap.

All of this cut into my knitting & spinning time but, who knows??? Maybe the Insurance company will finally bite the bullet & PAY! Then I can choose the travelling wheel I want. I've finished the Indian Sweater & the touques. I've started socks number ONE for the year but been too busy to finish them. I've been spinning Arvik hoping to start on that sweater & now I really, really want to get into that 15 pound bag of goodies!! I want to win the Lotto!! I want my fibre time back . . . .

New Batteries Make a Difference


I've had an education in batteries in the past couple of days. Seems the obsequeous digital camera has special needs when it comes to batteries! It absoluely, positively won't work with rechargables says the Guy who sold it to me. NOPE. NO WAY! Can't be, says me. Well, it DOES work for a couple of seconds on a newly charged, kickass GREEN battery! And I refuse to keep buying those 'Throw Away' batteries. So I got me some new NiMh Duracell rechargables to try. They cost a little more than the ordinary batteries but come with the charger!! And they work like a Hot Damn!!! Seeeeeeee - you CAN run a digital camera on rechargables! Now I can take photos again.

So the skein of Hybiscus merino is now in living color. I haven't got the color quite right - someday I'll learn about lighting - but it's close! And, yes, the picture is sideways . . . .



And my cotton/polyester fluff experiment?? Yeah, I took a pic of it too! This is the stuff the hairdresser tucks around your hairline when you're getting a perm.

The first sock of the year - still in production!!! this is knit from the Black Stonewash from ELANN in Richmond. I ordered a bag & 4 extra balls in Blue Stonewash & Black Stonewash. The BT doesn't like socks that're too colorful - hey, I got him out of WHITE socks!!! He prefers the blue or black splotchy Confetti but I thought he might like the Stonewash colors so I ordered them for him. If they're too colorful, his dad will grab them, that I know!!! I may just mention his dad to make him wear them . . . . .

Whew - I was working on the computer in PoCo when that wind just slammed into the building making all the lights flicker!! We thought at first that a truck had slammed into the building!!! Within minutes we could hear sirens & the lights at the corner - McLean & Kingsway - flew across the street as the wires came down with the next blast!!! We shut the place down & left early, hoping to avoid a major mess out there. I was lucky, only had the usual Bridge traffic jam & managed to get home safely with only one other intersection without power!!! I noticed the Port Mann bridge traffic backed up on the north side going west as usual. I've never figured that one out. The traffic jam should be on the south side going east at this time of day . . . .

Another Winter Surprise


The Cat has to be first out the door in the morning. She's still looking for the Door into Summer and was NOT a happy camper this morning. She demanded I open the door this morning but shifted into reverse very quickly & backed between my legs in her haste to get back to her warm spot. I, on the other hand, had to get out of the warm spot, go out, get cold, brush off the snow & drive to meet someone across town. Cats are definitely smarter than us.

I was rooting thru the bags of stuff I have piled up in a very large wicker basket & came across a few yards of fluff I got from my hairdresser. You know the cottony stuff they put around your hairline before a perm or color??? It looks like cotton balls by the yard??? Its actually a polyester/cotton blend - mostly poly I think - & I wondered if I could spin it. So I got a sample & finally spun it up on New Years Day as I watched the Holmes on Homes marathon. It was interesting. It spun inchworm style in a thick & thin yarn for a bit, then into a lovely smooth yarn before going back to lumpy & bumpy. I haven't set the spin, knit a sample or dyed it yet but it does feel lovely. I'm thinking about checking out the hairdresser price of this stuff . . . .

I also spun up a 100 gm bag of Hybiscus merino from Aurelia fibres. I took it to Show & Tell when it was still damp but Gail counted the yards & there was 420 in sock weight yarn. She suggested I knit a shawlette on big needles since its in that wonderful shade of blued pink that suits me so well. Now to find a pattern!

I treated myself to a bag of sock yarn from ELANN. I wanted some 'manly' colors & this was just too good a deal to pass up. I got 12 balls of self patterning yarn - reminds me of Confetti - for just under $50 - including tax & shipping!! I've already cast on the first of many pairs to come this year!! I promised to knit some for the Red Cross Loan Cupboard last year but didn't have time so they're first on the list this year. The Red Cross sells handmade stuff & uses the money for equipment which they loan out. Walkers are the most requested item.

The Indian Sweater is complete & is being worn as I type. I picked up stitches around the neck & knit a hood to top it off. The recipient had pneumonia over the holidays - AGAIN, so she was very happy to have a really warm sweater. I may have to make a couple of vests for two others now but they're a lot quicker to make! Since I hate sewing things together, I knit it all in one piece but that makes it really heavy! Knitting the sleeves in the round on an already heavy sweater is REALLY heavy going!! But, other than crocheting in the occasional end, there's NO FINISHING!! And I hate finishing.